Gender Equality in Health Care Prof. Emeritus Pensri Phijaisanit President, The Women’s Health Advocacy Foundation (WHAF)

Gender Equality in Health Care  Women’s Health in Beijing Platform for Action  Thailand and East Asian Countries  Women’s Health in Thailand: Progress after ICPD 1994 and Beijing 1995

Women’s Health in Beijing PoA  3 rd critical area of concern: Inequalities and inadequacies in and unequal access to health care and related services  4 th critical area of concern: Violence against women

Five Strategies towards Women’s Health  Strategy 1: Increase women's access throughout the life cycle to appropriate, affordable and quality health care, information and related services.  Strategy 2: Strengthen preventive programmes that promote women's heath. Source: 1995 Beijing Platform for Action

Five Strategies towards Women’s Health  Strategy 3: Undertake gender-sensitive initiatives that address sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, and sexual and reproductive health issues.  Strategy 4: Promote research and disseminate information on women's health.  Strategy 5: Increase resources and monitor follow-up for women's health. Source: 1995 Beijing Platform for Action

Thailand and East Asian Countries Reproductive Risk Index (Population Action International, 2005)

Women’s Health in Thailand: Policy and legistrations  1997 national reproductive health policy: “All Thai citizens at all ages, must have good reproductive health throughout their entire lives”  Meaning of reproductive health as “a state of complete reproductive processes and functions in both men and women at every stage of life, that bring about social well-being” Source: Ministry of Public Health, 2003.

Women’s Health in Thailand: Policy and legistrations  2002 Drafted bill on national health system, section 9 in Chapter on Health Rights: the protection of women’s sexual and reproductive health – deleted by a special committee of the Council of State Source: Health System Reform Office, 2005.

Women’s Health in Thailand: Policy and legistrations  2005 Drafted bill on the protection of reproductive health –Protection of reproductive rights of persons with non- discrimination with regard to any ground but not including sexual orientations –Guaranteeing right to information, care, and decision making –Covering sex education, sexual health, contraception, safe motherhood, menopause and aging, especially the national committee on reproductive health Source: Women’s Health Advocacy Foundation, 2005.

Women’s Health in Thailand: Policy and legistrations  Ministry of Public Health, Policy on One Stop Crisis Center (OSCC) for victims of violence in all provincial hospitals, 2004 Source: Women’s Health Advocacy Foundation, 2005.

There is a long road to go…  45% of total pregnancies are unplanned (Population Council, 2002)  16% of unplanned pregnancy resulted in induced abortion (Population Council, 2002)  29% of women hospitalized as of unsafe abortion have severe complications, 0.1% died (Warakamin and Boonthai, 2002)

There is a long road to go…  Trend of C-section is higher every year, contrast to labor delivery (Mahidol University, 2005)  Most of sterilization each year done on women (Health Department, 2000)  Women died from reproductive cancer 6.5 times compare to men (Chuprapawun, 2000)

There is a long road to go…  41% of women in Bangkok and 47% of women in other province experienced either physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner (Mahidol University, 2003)  50% of women in Bangkok and 44% of women in other province had been injured as a result of violence by their intimate partner (Mahidol University, 2003)

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